The Sight Seeing Boat Cruise With No Sights

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Whist the temperature was still in minus figures, it had warmed up slightly and it had also started snowing. We were planning on going on a sight seeing boat cruise, which only run once per day in the afternoon so we thought we would go to the terminal at Pier 83 to book it first.

Once that was done, we thought we would go for a walk in Central Park. On the way there we walked past the Trump Tower. It was funny to see a number of people taking pictures of the Trump Tower sign at the front whilst giving it the finger. Well, it made me laugh anyway, particularly as we have only been here a few days and are already getting sick of having that idiot forced down our throat.

By the time we got to Central Park it had started to snow, which made it quite pretty, despite the horrid, grey sky. We walked around the southern end of the park, covering just a tiny part of it. After that we walked back to Pier 83 to get the sight seeing cruise. All the seats by the windows had already been occupied and it was way too cold to go outside, but it didn't really matter as, with impeccable timing, the thick, grey, snow-filled cloud descended the instant the boat left and the visibility was practically zero. When the boat pulled out towards the middle of the Hudson River we literally could not see a thing.

The poor guy giving the commentary persevered and pointed out and explained all the sights as we headed south to the Statue of Liberty and then up the East River before turning round and heading back again. Despite the fact that we couldn't see most of what he was talking about it was all very interesting. There was the pier where the Titanic was due to dock, the mechanics supporting the tunnels, the history of the bridges, why most of the older buildings have water tanks at the top and I didn't realise that 25% of Manhattan is actually on reclaimed land.

Our daughter really wanted to go to Planet Hollywood at Times Square, so, along with all the other tourists (sadly, I can't claim the "traveller" tag anymore) we queued and went there for our evening meal. I forgot and had crisps with my meal again. In order to have a beer to drink with my meal I was also expected to buy the glass. At $15 (not forgetting to add the 9% tax and 20% service charge, or tip or whatever it was that was added to the bill for us) it was the most expensive beer that I think I have ever had, so it was little consolation that I was able to take a Planet Hollywood glass home with me. On the matter of the tip / service charge, we've noticed that once people hear our English accents they put the 20% service charge on the bill rather than leaving it for us to add. I guess they get fed up with us only putting on 10%.

We thought we would put on the evening news to catch-up on what is going on in the world. There was more on the presidential primaries and then there was the death of Supreme Court judge Antonin Scalia. Then there was yet more on the primaries and yet more on the political aftermath following Justice Scalia's death. That was about it. At least Donald Tump and all his abusive bile and the general Republican infighting made it slightly entertaining, if not particularly informative.

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Photos

Central Park
Central Park in the snow.

Boat Cruise View
What we were able to see of Lower Manhattan from the sight-seeing boat cruise.

Statue of Liberty
We got close enough to the Statue of Liberty to be able to see it.